The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 46

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 46. Special Appointment Professor (3)
“Ha.”
A hollow laugh escaped between Elisha’s lips.
“What on earth are you relying on to be so confident?”
At this point, I was more curious about the identity of this Candidate than angry.
‘On the surface, there’s nothing particularly special about him.’
Even as I activated my ‘Evil Eye’ and scrutinized Dale from head to toe, I found no remarkable features.
If I had to point out one characteristic, it would be that the magical power emanating from his stigma was only about half that of the other Candidates.
‘Low magical power can’t possibly be an advantage.’
There’s a saying about excess being insufficient, but when it came to magical power, more was generally better.
‘What could it be?’
The way he carried himself so confidently suggested he had something hidden up his sleeve, but I couldn’t begin to guess what it was.
“…Vincent.”
“Yes, Professor.”
“Don’t let your guard down.”
I couldn’t fathom what he was relying on to display such an attitude, but Lucas Kane—a man I’d known since his Candidate days—wasn’t the type to show such confidence without solid grounds.
There had to be something hidden.
Until I uncovered what it was, caution was essential.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Vincent nodded respectfully, then lowered his stance by pushing his hips back without drawing his sword.
“….”
Vincent’s sharp gaze fixed on Dale.
Dale chuckled softly as he observed Vincent studying him.
“You’ll bore a hole through someone at this rate.”
“….”
“Wow, you really don’t talk much, do you, Instructor?”
“And you talk far too much.”
Vincent replied coldly.
I shrugged and continued.
“It doesn’t matter to me whether I talk much or little, but with your lack of eloquence, how are you supposed to teach lectures in place of Professor Lucas Kane?”
“Practical tactical training doesn’t require eloquence.”
“Ah, right. I see.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“Practical tactical training is the name used before the curriculum was reorganized five years ago. Now it’s called practical combat training.”
“What does that have to do with—”
“What does it have to do with it?”
Quite a lot, actually.
“If you graduated five years ago, you’ve been active as a hero for at least five years, yet I don’t see many small scars on your forearms or hands.”
The absence of even minor scars on someone who’d been active as a hero for five years meant one of two things.
Either you were overwhelmingly strong enough to avoid even minor wounds.
Or perhaps his combat style itself is one that doesn’t leave openings for wounds.
“Despite being warned not to let my guard down, he didn’t draw his sword from its sheath beforehand, and the way he positioned his hips exaggerated compared to a typical swordsman….”
I nodded while observing the scabbard hanging from Vincent’s left hip.
“It seems quick-draw techniques are his specialty for decisive short-range battles?”
“….”
Had I struck a nerve?
Vincent’s expression hardened like stone.
“Tch.”
With no intention of continuing the conversation, Vincent inhaled sharply and gripped his sword hilt.
Light erupted from his stigma, and silver mana enveloped his entire body.
‘He certainly has excellent mana control.’
Just from watching how he distributed mana evenly throughout his entire body without concentrating it anywhere, I could easily tell that Vincent’s mana manipulation was top-tier.
‘But ultimately, it doesn’t matter.’
I relaxed my strength entirely and concentrated all my mana tightly within my stigma.
“….”
Vincent’s expression twisted as he observed my movements with sharp eyes.
Compressing mana tightly within one’s stigma before combat was like a sprinter standing motionless without even assuming a starting position before a race.
Vincent’s thick veins bulged across his forehead at my display—as if I were saying, ‘I can beat someone like you even like this.’
“Let’s see how long you can keep up this arrogance.”
Boom!
With a sound like a drum strike, Vincent charged forward.
In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance and drew his sword.
Flash!
A terrifying silver flash shot toward me at incredible speed.
I kept my gaze fixed on the direction of Vincent’s blade while distributing the mana within my stigma to my left leg, right arm, and sword.
Clang!
Using my left leg as an axis to maintain balance, I met the silver flash head-on.
Normally, given the difference in mana between Vincent and me, blocking his sword directly would have been impossible. But by distributing mana only to the exact points needed rather than spreading it throughout my body, I was able to withstand the attack.
“What…!”
Elisha’s eyes widened as she watched the battle.
To release mana contained within a stigma at precisely the right moment, in precisely the right location, in precisely the right amount.
‘And against Vincent’s quick-draw technique, no less?’
This was mana control so precise it bordered on acrobatics—something difficult even if both parties had agreed beforehand on when and where to attack.
“Tsk!”
With his first strike blocked, Vincent swallowed hard and created distance.
His specialty was quick-draw techniques that exploited momentary openings.
After each attack, he needed a brief moment to reset.
But.
“When you create distance, don’t fix your gaze only on your opponent.”
That leaves your footing vulnerable.
“Hnngh!”
Berald’s martial arts.
Earth Tremor.
Crunch!
As I stomped down with all my strength, the Training Ground floor where Vincent had been about to step cracked with a sharp fracture.
It wasn’t possible to shake the entire surrounding earth like when I’d consumed the Stigma Amplifier.
‘But this is enough for now.’
I channel mana into the hand gripping my sword.
“Kuh!”
Vincent’s body lost its balance for a moment as he stepped on the fractured Training Ground floor, wavering.
Still, being a seasoned hero, he didn’t topple backward and quickly regained his footing.
“It’s already too late.”
I concentrate mana into both legs and plant my feet firmly.
Wind Step.
My body launches forward as if sprinting through empty air.
“Hah.”
I exhale a low breath and grip my sword.
The mana concentrated in both legs naturally flows up through my meridians and gathers at the blade.
A gray aura blazing along the sword’s edge.
Compared to the silver aura gathered at Vincent’s blade, its size and brilliance fell far short.
‘This is sufficient.’
In combat, what matters isn’t who possesses greater raw power.
Whether a human has a hole the size of their head or a hole the size of their finger punched through them, death is the same either way.
As long as one possesses the minimum strength to wound an opponent, what comes after is far more dependent on how skillfully that power is wielded.
Whoosh!
A glimmering ashen flash.
“Guh!”
Vincent clutched his bleeding forearm and staggered backward.
Clang.
The sword in his grip fell to the ground with a clear metallic ring.
“…I’ve lost.”
Vincent bit his lip and shook his head.
“….”
“….”
Silence descended upon the Training Ground.
I felt the weight of astonished gazes fixed upon me.
“What on earth is….”
Elisha trailed off, her voice laden with disbelief.
She activated her Hero Watch and checked my information on the Candidate Program roster multiple times.
“…How is this even possible, Lucas Kane?”
Elisha shoots a probing glare at Lucas Kane, as if interrogating him.
“Ah… well. Ahem! Didn’t I tell you? His ranking is lower than his actual ability warrants.”
“Do you really think this situation can be brushed aside with that kind of explanation?”
“Hmm….”
Lucas Kane swallows hard under Elisha’s sharp rebuke.
In truth, he’s just as bewildered by the current situation.
‘I knew Dale would win, but….’
Dale had a track record of forcing him to use even the ‘Bloodbattle Guardian’s Blessing’ back when his mana was far inferior to what it is now.
With his mana having grown considerably since then, I had predicted he could easily defeat Vincent, but…
‘I never imagined he’d overwhelm him this thoroughly.’
Honestly, if someone asked me to fight Dale right now, I wouldn’t be confident in victory.
‘How could he grow this much in just a month?’
Lost in contemplation, I furrow my brow.
“…Lucas Kane? Didn’t you hear what I said?”
“Ah, yes. My apologies, senior.”
“Sigh, never mind. Looking at your expression, it seems you don’t know either.”
Elisha exhales a deep sigh and shakes her head slowly.
Lucas Kane approaches Elisha and asks carefully.
“By the way, about the resignation matter you mentioned earlier….”
“That was just a joke.”
“Pardon?”
“Of course. While a special-appointment professor does have more authority than regular professors, they don’t have the power to dismiss one.”
“….”
“I just wanted to see you flustered for once. I never expected things to turn out like this….”
Elisha lights a cigarette held between her lips, arms crossed.
“You’re seriously saying that was a joke, senior?”
Lucas Kane stares at Elisha with an incredulous expression.
Who in the world delivers a joke with such a serious face?
“Of course, it was also meant to instill some caution. The Candidate Program students’ level has genuinely been subpar.”
“That’s….”
Ugh.
Unable to find a counterargument, Lucas Kane trails off.
Certainly, excluding irregularities like Dale and Yuren Helios, the current third-year Candidate Program students are, frankly speaking, below average.
‘Especially since last year’s third-year Candidate Program students were historically exceptional, making the comparison even starker.’
In any case.
Learning that everything was a misunderstanding, I feel embarrassed about the heat that rose to my head for no reason.
“But… honestly, even I didn’t anticipate this outcome.”
Elisha turns to look at Vincent, who stands with his bleeding forearm clenched, head bowed, and clicks her tongue.
Vincent wasn’t a so-called “ranker”—a hero ranked within the top hundred of the Three-Nation Hero Rankings.
Yet despite that, with real combat experience against Demons numbering in the double digits, he was a seasoned hero, and to think he’d suffer such a helpless defeat….
“You don’t think that’s Yuren Helios in disguise, do you?”
“Yuren Helios is in Class A of ‘Practical Combat Training’. We’re in Class C. And look at that guy’s face. How could that possibly be the peerless beauty who shook the Continent?”
“Hmm. Personally, I find Dale more to my taste.”
“Pardon?”
“Well, in any case. If a bottom-ranked Candidate truly possesses this level of power, as the roster indicates….”
Elisha’s violet eyes gleamed with an unsettling light.
“A more thorough examination is necessary.”
“A thorough examination, you say….”
“You know what my blessing is, don’t you?”
“Wait, surely you’re not…!”
Before Lucas Kane could even stop her in his alarm.
Elisha strode toward me with purpose.
“Dale.”
“Ah, yes, Professor.”
“There’s something I need to verify. Come closer.”
“…?”
I tilted my head in confusion as I approached Elisha.
A sharp whoosh—
“…!”
Before I could even react, Elisha’s hand seized my collar roughly.
And then.
“Mmph?!”
Our lips met.
Elisha’s tongue invaded the space between my lips, exploring my mouth with ravenous hunger.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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